Footage shows a bizarre encounter between Queensland Police officers and a sovereign citizen who was stopped for driving an unregistered vehicle.
When the police officers told him that they were conducting a “registration and driving license check,” he handed her a piece of paper and said, “You will be served with a document from me in case of unlawful detention.”
According to the man, a fee of $10,000 per hour would be charged for any “unlawful arrest, apprehension or detention,” but that did not happen.
As the confusion grew, the sovereign citizen’s claims became even more bizarre.
He insisted that his car was registered under “international law” and not Queensland law, and described the vehicle as being “dry docked”.
The policewoman, still confused, radioed to confirm his claims.
The sovereign citizen argued that the registration was not in his system because it was “private.”
“You don’t realize this, but everything has changed since 2020. You know that martial law is in place right now. I own every part of this vehicle. I own the license plates, I own the car, and it is not to be touched or tampered with, it is my vehicle.”
Footage shows a bizarre encounter between Queensland police officers and a sovereign citizen (pictured) who was stopped for driving an unregistered vehicle
He insisted that his car was registered under “international law” and not Queensland law, and described the vehicle as being “dry docked” – which greatly confused police
He then discussed the reasons given by sovereign citizens for not registering their vehicles.
“Everyone has the right to travel and no one should try to stop them. At the moment they are considering whether or not to continue on this path.”
“And they realize that my document has now been delivered to them, which also makes them think: How much (in costs) do they want to spend per hour and what do they want to put up with.”
The footage ended with police officers telling the sovereign citizen that he was “allowed to go,” leading to speculation online that he had gotten off scot-free.
However, public concerns were unfounded.
“Police have issued a 54-year-old Kallangur man with four traffic violations totalling $1,484 following a routine traffic stop in Southport on June 22,” a Queensland Police spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.
The four violations were:
- Use/allow use of vehicle without license plate in accordance with regulations ($123)
- Making, selling or possessing anything resembling a registration certificate, license plate or permit ($371)
- Driving an uninsured Class 1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 16 or 24 motor vehicle on a roadway ($619)
- Use/authorization of use of an unregistered 4 cylinder or 2 rotor motor vehicle ($371)
His vehicle was also confiscated for a period of 90 days and has been registered to the owner since then.
The sovereign citizen refers to a fine he wanted to issue to the police – instead he was punished himself
Many people called out the sovereign citizen after watching the footage.
“The irony is that this is all being done for his freedom, but if he would just register his car like a normal person, he wouldn’t get stopped and wouldn’t have to go through this circus every time,” one said.
A second added: “A chef invoking international law is… something else. And for anyone playing at home, no international law registers vehicles or ships.”
A third added: “Imagine having to deal with that.”
